Oct 28, 2010

Fox TV, John Erickson and me!

I am about to write about politics!!! I know...I don't normally do that on this blog. But what I have to say could be important to the aging population. I want to talk about the ramifications of how this huge segment of society votes.

I received an email from a representative of John Erickson, owner of Retirement Living TV, the other day. The representative asked me to write a blog about Mr. Erickson's concern that politicians are ignoring the needs of our senior citizens. I asked you to take a look at his point of view even though I am not really in tune with what he is saying. I watched an interview with him Fox News carried. As a result, I now feel that I need make it clear where I stand.

First of all, I am not a Fox News fan. You need to know that about me. A young beautiful blond woman conducted the interview. She was very good at eliciting the statements that would tout what Fox wanted Erickson to say without actually asking "Are you a Republican and would you agree that the Democrats have had time enough to straighten out the mess created over a period of eight Republican years?" I find it hard to believe that anyone believes that. Her comment that "politicians are expecting the youth vote to save them (the Democrats) again" struck me as a partisan point of view unworthy of a major news network.

The solicitous tone of the woman's voice when she commented on Erickson's age and suggested that he didn't look nearly old enough to be...well how do I put this....old, did not go down well with me! He deserved better than that. I wish that looking "old" was a good thing. I wish that young people would realize how valuable and wise the elders in this world really are!

So let me get this political stuff out of the way.

I think we are all in this together. I do not want the education of our young people to take a back seat to old people getting more money. Most of us have figured out how to live on what we have and we pay the consequences for what we did in our youth. We have all suffered because of the economic mess created because of the politicians(?) serving us in
Washington.

I don't believe that the business sector and very rich can be trusted with our lives unless they are watched...very carefully.

I do not resent the fact that President Obama is trying to get the young people of America to pay attention. Without an involved, well educated hard working young population that participates in our economy and our government, old people are in a lot of trouble. By involving young people in the political process we make them commit to our countries future.

I do not resent paying taxes. I think a strong infrastructure is necessary to a good quality of life. Even if I have my own swimming pool or tennis court and can afford private schools, I want to pay taxes so everyone can have the same advantages I enjoy. I think we will all benefit in the end. In fact, I have seen information that in States with a poor quality education, prison populations and the crime rate rises markedly. Does that seem logical? I think it does and I would cite Arizona as an example.

I like "ObamaCare" as Rush Limbaugh and all those of his ilk call our new health care plan. Here is why. a) I have known people who were deemed uninsurable by an insurance company because they developed a serious illness. b) After I became eligible for Medicare, the quality of my physician care dropped markedly even though my physician did everything he could to keep the quality high. He hired a nurse practitioner to care for his medicare patients. c) Worse yet, I have known a LOT of people that were dropped by physicians that had provided their health care for all their adult life when they became Medicare eligible! As I understand it, physicians will not be allowed to do this unless they are willing to take their chances with people that can afford to pay full price for a physicians visit. We will see. d) My son and his wife were employed by a private sector 911 paramedic service. Their company health insurance plan was dropped and they were forced into a employee-paid "health care savings plan". It devastated them financially and made medical care almost unaffordable. My daughter-in-law had to find a different job so they could survive. The owner was on vacation in the Caribbean when the managers announced the decision to change. It was a very hurtful situation. Profits for the company may have gone up significantly but even if they didn't, was that the RIGHT thing to do? e) Lastly, I find the idea that the insurance industry has thrown it's support to the Republican Party simply because they are being hurt financially by the new government health care plan is very telling. Hopefully, "ObamaCare" will correct at least some of these inequities.

I do not believe in nor do I support lobbyist or large industrial interests controlling our lawmakers decisions about laws that effect the American people. AARP needs to be very careful when it comes to satisfying their needs at the expense of education or veteran's health care for example.

I am a senior citizen but I am also a parent, grandmother, active human, educator, home owner and voter. All issues that come into play in my life concern me. But just because I am all those things does not mean I want all other issues to be ignored.

It is not about me or aging or health insurance or living wills or even the crisis in our economy. It is about the WHOLE and when you believe that, you have a hard time raising your hand and saying "HEY, YOU HAVE MORE THAN I HAVE AND THAT IS NOT FAIR!"

Finally, I believe in high flown ideals and I do not believe in hateful rhetoric.